Sealing material for vacuum vessels



fM y 3, 9 K.- LENZ ET AL SEALING MATERIAL FOR ACUUM VESSBLS Filed Dec. 2, 1937 Inventors: Kur-t Lenz,

Er nst Woeokel, b www T he 1' Attorney.

i Patented M ss, 1939 PATENT OFFICE SEALING MATERIAL FOR- VACUUM VESSELS Kurt Lens, Berlin-Hchterfelde,

Woeckel, Berlin-Friedman, Germany, assignorl and Ernst to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application December 2. 1931, Serial No. 111,114

In Germany February 1, 1937 5Ciaims.

l 1 The present invention relates to improved materials for joining or sealing the enclosing vessels Aoffelectrlcal devices which are necessarily sub- A iected to high temperatures during the course of 1 jmanufacture or operation. 1

In the manufacture of incandescent lamps,

A vacuum tubes and many other enclosed electrifcalvdevices, it is necessary to take great care to 1: javoidcontamlnation of electrodes or other en- 1 closed parts by deposition of foreign substances A: thereon. .Where the enclosing vessel is constif tuted ofseparate metal parts joined by a sealing.

; imat erial, the aforementioned consideration im- 1 poses definite limitations on the character of the ll sealing materials which may be satisfactorily emplayed; For example, in the fabrication of electrlcal discharge devices if one uses solders such as silver, copper or copper-silver alloys under con- A ditions such that the solder is exposed to the .5 interior of the vessel, objectionable vaporization of the solder on to the electrode surfaces occurs during the bake-cu 0r dega s Processes t0 Awhich such devices are customarily subjected.

It is an object of the present invention to provide sealing materials which are not subject to appreciable vaporization even when heated to the temperatures ordinarily employed in bakeif you ("processes A This object is fulfilled in accordance with the invention by employing as a joining material for A ,A the metal parts of vacuum vessels a eutectic alloy of atleast one metal of the iron group (i. e., iron,

I n nickel and cobalt) with at least one metal of the A ,chromium group (i. e., chromium, molybdenum A and tungsten). By the term eutectic alloy is tmeant an alloy having the lowest possible melting point for the given constituents. Such alloys l {are found tohave good joining and sealing prop- IQ erties and are further characterized by being only ,0 slightly vaporizable at the temperatures ordinarilyencountered during manufacturing procj esses. Consequently, even though the joints to besealed are so located that the sealing material A is exposed to the interior of the vacuum vessel, 45 nocontamination of electrodes or. other operative 1Q 1 elements within such vessel occurs during bakel out{ or equivalent treatments. 1 A

it MSuitable molybdenum alloys comprise 51% nickeI with 49% molybdenum (melting point 15013090.); 63% cobalt with 37% molybdenum,

C n A (melting point 1340" 0.); and 62% iron with 38% I nmolybdenumimelting point 1440' 0.). Among If the alloys between metals of the iron group and A tungsten, the cobalt-tungsten alloy which com- A: sgfprises55.5%cobaltimelting point 1470' C.) is

preferred. However, one may also use an alloy of tungsten with about 48% nickel (melting point 1510 C.) or an alloy of tungsten with about 67% iron .(melting point 1525 C.). The preferred chromium alloys include cobalt-chromium with about 58% cobalt and nickel-chromium with about 49% nickel. The indicated nickel-molybdenum alloy with about 51% nickel has proved to be particularly successful. It is especially suitable for the welding of iron and of chromium-iron parts. Due to the inherent brittleness of the alloys described in the foregoing it is advantageous to utilize them in a pulverized state. Thus in performing sealing operations, a paste may be formedby combining the pulverized alloy with a readily evaporating liquid binder such as alcohol A or purified petroleum. This paste is then placed in suitable grooves or indentations formed between the metal parts to be'joined and the assembly heated to cause evaporation of the binder. As the temperature is raised to a still higher value the residual powder melts and joints the metal parts in hermetically sealed relationship.

In the single figure of the drawing we have indicated the application of the invention in connection with a vacuum tube of the all-metal type. This comprises an evacuated metal shell I, containing electrodes which include an anode 2, and a cathode 3. The lower end of the envelope is flanged and is closed by means of a transverse metal header 4 which is joined to the flange. In accordance with our invention the joint between the flange and the header is sealed by means of ing metal parts of electric vacuum vessels but also for other special vacuum vessels such as transportation tanks for rare gases.

' What we claim as new and desire to obtain by Letters Patent of the United States is: n

1. An electrical discharge device comprising a sealed vessel enclosing electrode structure which is subject to contamination by metallic vapors, metal parts forming constituent elements of the vessel and a metallic sealing material hermetically joining the metal parts and at least partially exposed to the interior of the vessel, said sealing material comprising a eutectic alloy of at least one metal of the iron group with at least one metal or the group which consists of chro- 4. line combination of claim 1 in which the mium, molybdenum and tungsten. sealing material consists 01' an alloy of about 62% 2. The combination or claim 1, in which the iron with about 38% molybdenum. sealing material consists of an alloy of about 51% 5. The combination of claim 1 in which the nickel and about 49% molybdenum. sealing material consists otan alloy of about 58% 5 3. The combination of claim 1 in which the cobalt and about 42% chromium. sealing material consists 01' an alloy of about 83% KURT LENZ. cobalt and about 37% molybdenum. ERNST WOECKEL. 

